Getting a bit cocky

I had a great delight yesterday morning as I put out our bin for our weekly collection of rubbish. No - putting out the bin is NOT the highlight of my week. It is a neccessary activity once a week before midday every Tuesday.

As I was returning along our driveway I heard the unmistakeable call of a cockatoo. Two in fact. High in the sky to the west of our five acre (2 hectare) block on the outskirts of Murray Bridge I saw two Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoos (YTBC). This was a new species to add to our home list.

YTBCs are widespread across much of South-Eastern Australia. I have seen small flocks of them some 60km to the west in the Mt. Lofty Ranges. I have also recorded a few at Meningie some 80km south of here. I have also seen large flocks of over 100 at Coonalpyn about 90km South-East of here and even larger flocks in the South-East of South Australia. This is my first record of this species in or near Murray Bridge. The habitat is generally not suitable for them. The native pines east of the River Murray may sustain a small population for a limited time but there would be few large nesting hollows present to attract them to breed in this area.

It was a delightful start to the day. Unfortunately they flew over too quickly to get out the camera. To see a photograph and a drawing of this species click here.

Gluepot Bird Sanctuary

It has been quite a while since my last entry. I've been busy and quite often distracted by other things in my life.

A few weeks ago I had my first visit to Gluepot Bird Reserve. This is about 64km north of Waikerie in South Australia. This large tract of mallee bushland used to be a working sheep station. In 1997 the members of Birds Australia purchased the land and have set it aside as a bird reserve. This area has a high concentration of threatened species present and so it has become a very valuable part of Australia's reserves. I was one of the many members who donated funds for its purchase.

The main reason for visiting on this occasion was to attend the very first course held at the reserve. It was a Nature Photography course and was very beneficial. It forced me to become more familiar with my Canon Powershot S2 IS digital camera.

This Grey Butcherbird visited my campsite.

Pity it looked away just as I took the photo!

Gluepot Reserve is a wonderful birding destination. The new Visitor Centre is not only packed with information, it is also a beautiful building. The course I attended was held next door in the shearing shed which had been converted into a lecture hall. The final touches were being made as we arrived for the first session on the Saturday morning.

Gluepot Reserve has many roads which enable the visitor to experience the different environments within the reserve. After rain these roads can become like a "gluepot" hence the name of the station. Bird hides have been placed in strategic places to observe the birds up close.

I only had time to access several of the more than a dozen walking tracks. These tracks take the keen birders deep into the mallee and spinifex country where the birds abound. Several camping grounds enable one to camp right where the birds are common. The camp sites are all set in beautiful scrubland.

My camping spot at Gluepot Reserve.

I was able to add a new species to my Life List; the Black-Eared Miner. This species of honeyeater is nationally threatened but relatively easy to find in parts of Gluepot. Although I missed out on many other species I would like to have seen, such as the Scarlet Chested Parrot, I am determined to return frequently in the future.

On one of my drives on the Monday I was able to get some good photographs of several Bearded Dragons.A Bearded Dragon lizard on the road side at Gluepot.